Troy Pate's low-slung '33 Ford roadster, the `Blue Diamond,' was a show-stopper in the central concourse of the show. Sporting a newly released full-fendered body by Rat's Glass, the car is finished in PPG Roadhouse Blue with just a touch of red pearl thrown in to enhance the glow. The Wichita Eagle

Troy Pate's low-slung '33 Ford roadster, the `Blue Diamond,' was a show-stopper in the central concourse of the show. Sporting a newly released full-fendered body by Rat's Glass, the car is finished in PPG Roadhouse Blue with just a touch of red pearl thrown in to enhance the glow. The Wichita Eagle

Starbird-Devlin show kicks off car season

The opening of the car show season in Wichita traditionally involves braving some cold, nasty weather at some point. But this year’s Starbird-Devlin Rod & Customs Charities Car Show kicked things off against a backdrop of unusually balmy temperatures.

Show organizers said the flu had more of an impact on participants, but that 66 cars showed up to vie for the Magnificent 7 awards, with a total of 329 vehicles on display throughout the Century II exhibit halls.

The car that won the prestigious Ridler Award at the 2010 Detroit Autorama laid claim to the first place Magnificent 7 hardware. Tammy and Tony Ray brought their 1933 Ford custom called the "Gold Digger" all the way from Dahlonega, Ga., to compete in Wichita and it was an awesome piece of work from any angle.

Truth be told, there were great cars everywhere you looked and we were lucky enough to be asked to pick a Wichita On Wheels favorite, which was the toughest job of the day. I finally settled on Rob and Eillen Robinson’s cool ’49 Plymouth 2-door, which features a subtle top chop, super-low stance, a gorgeous white-over-blue paint job and the old flathead 6 engine under the hood. We will be contacting the Robinsons about doing a full feature on their car soon.

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For those who succumbed to the nice weather (or the flu) and couldn’t make it to the show, here are some of the cars that caught our eye. You can also check out additional cars online at www.kansas.com. And thanks to former longtime Eagle photographer Dave Williams for documenting all three days of the Starbird-Devlin event. Those photos are also online at our website.

A full list of award winners can be found attached to this story at Kansas.com.